Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Mistaken Bride by Regan Taylor

I'm so excited to have Mistaken Bride, book 2 of my Bride series, up for discussion. What a fun way to wind up Valentine's day 2011!

In Indentured Bride, book 1 Jenna Matthews flees Virginia and joins up with a wagon train that it's participants call the "Bride Train" because of a group of mail order brides on their way to Adler Creek, Wyoming. Jenna plans to ditch the group of women as soon as she can, but her plan goes awry and she soon finds herself walking down the aisle with deputy sheriff, Brett Parker. Brett has his own set of secrets which may ultimately destroy their relationship.

In book 2, Brett's older brother, Kendrick, is on his way to Wyoming with the information that could save Jenna's life. When he arrives in St. Louis he comes upon one of the most notorious bank robbers of all time, Black Bette. Taking her into custody with plans to bring her to San Francisco to stand trial, Kendrick soon realizes he has his hands full -- with the right woman. Or is she?

Indentured Bride was originally intended to be a stand alone book until I caught glimpses of Kendrick and his life. He's a man of his time, but even then, he stands on the crevase of two worlds. On the one hand he is an urbane Washingtonian, an attorney and at the same time a United States Marshal. On the other, he has loved his time in rugged Wyoming of the 1860's. Women flock to the good looking lawman, but nothing much about them appeals to him. The simpering misses don't see him as a man, just someone to get their MRS. from. When he meets the woman he is certain is Black Bette his world is turned upside down. Suddenly all the rules he's lived by are turned around. I loved writing him and getting to know him.

Bette, has a bit of me inside of her -- her love of language. You'll see what I mean when you read Mistaken Bride.

If you aren't a fan of, or haven't read westerns, in many ways, while in the historical western romance genre, the characters could, I feel, exist in any time and any place. They just happen to live in the 1860's.